Faire un malheur
Meaning: To cause a scene with serious consequences — or, oppositely, to be a runaway success.
Language: French
Literally: To make a misfortune
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Two senses that point in contrary directions. The first is the plain one and dates from the middle of the 19th century: retenez-moi, ou je vais faire un malheur ! — hold me back or I'll do something we'll all regret — said by someone angry enough to break things, where the malheur is exactly what it says. The second is much more recent and started in show business, where a performance that fait un malheur delights everyone concerned. It is simple antiphrasis, saying the opposite of what you mean for effect, the same move as calling a hard life la vie de château (the life of the manor). Faire mal works the same way — ce film, il va faire mal ! is high praise.
More idioms — Daily Life
- Se faire la malle — To clear off; to make a run for it.
- Faire le mariole — To show off; to play the smart aleck.
- Fumer la moquette — To be talking obvious nonsense; to be off one's head.
- Sauver les meubles — To salvage what matters from a disaster.
- Pédaler dans la semoule — To be confused and getting nowhere.
- Avoir d'autres chats à fouetter — To have more important things to do.
More French idioms
- Se retrouver une main devant, une main derrière — To be left with absolutely nothing.
- Avoir vu le loup — Said of a young woman, to have had sex; also, in some regions, to be hoarse.
- Ne pas y aller de main morte — To hit hard; to act without the slightest restraint.
- Bourrer le mou — To feed someone lies; to try to con them.
- Enculer les mouches — To split hairs; to fuss over trivial detail. Vulgar.
- Être dans la mouise / Être dans la panade / Être dans la purée — To be broke and in real trouble.
From our proverbs
- Sell not the hare's skin before you have caught him. — Count your gains only after securing them; premature celebration invites disappointment a…
- Wise men learn by others' harms, fools by their own. — Observing consequences that befall others provides instruction without requiring personal…
- Haste trips up its own heels. — Rushing blindly causes you to stumble over obstacles you might have avoided through delib…
Loading the full interactive collection…